Karl Edwards presents Working Matters

Tag: purpose

  • Quote to Consider: My Soul’s Deepest Cry

    quote-to-consider“I must create a system or be enslaved by another mans; I will not reason and compare: my business is to create.”

    William Blake

  • Thought Leaders Unpacked -> The Answer to How is Yes by Peter Block

    thought-leadersWe start a new Thought Leaders Unpackedâ„¢ series this week with Peter Block’s The Answer to How is Yes: Acting On What Matters.

    As you are familiar by now, the chief criteria for book selection is that I have to be willing to learn, stretch and grow myself in the topic area.

    Block’s premise is that we end up asking the wrong questions when we believe that life, work, and/or relationships are things about which we simply need to master certain techniques and do the “right” way.

    He challenges the assumption that the answers to life and success are all out there somewhere outside of ourselves, and that we need to go discover them, acquire them, and apply them to ourselves.

    Life, though, is not something that one can learn to do “correctly”.

    He points out that we actually doubt our own abilities and unwisely invalidate our own unique giftedness by buying into the “how” questions.

    These themes resonate deeply with me.

    I am one of those people who inadvertently subject my dreams to the practical limitations imposed by those who pretend to know the answers. I also hesitate when the means to making a living are not readily apparent.

    I am looking forward to taking a more probing look at what is most core to who I am and what I want to be about.

    I hope you will join me on the journey and share your journeys as well. Get a copy of the book now and read along.

    The Answer to How is Yes: Acting On What Matters

    Part 1: The Question
    1. How is the Wrong Question
    2. Yes is the Right Answer
    3. Defenses Against Acting

    Part 2: Three Qualities
    4. Recapturing the Idealism of Youth
    5. Sustaining the Touch of Intimacy
    6. Enduring the Depth of Philosophy

    Part 3: The Requirements
    7. Claiming Full Citizenship
    8. Home School Yourself
    9. Your Boss Doesn’t Have What You Want
    10. Oh, by the Way… You Have to Give Up Your Ambition
    11. Care for the Whole (Whether It Deserves It or Not)

    Part 4: Social Architecture
    12. The Instrumental Imperative
    13. The Archetypes of Instrumentality and Desire
    14. The Role of the Social Architect
    15. It’s a Mystery to Me

    Each week I will post my reflections from one chapter of The Answer to How is Yes by Peter Block. My reflections are my own and are intended to generate conversation, catalyze additional thinking and encourage mutual learning.
    Welcome to the discussion!

  • Quote to Consider: To What End?

    quote-to-consider“Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.”

    Henry David Thoreau

  • Listen In -> Influencing Others #2: Clarity and Buy-in to the Mission

    The key to effective accountability is not threats or sanctions, but a clear vision of the future.

    Who you are, why you exist, where you are going and how you intend to get there as an organization.

    Of course, having a clear organizational mission is helpful only to the extent you have buy-in from the rest of the team. We need our teams to pour their hearts and souls into the effort, not merely rent us their hands and feet.

    In this week’s podcast conversation, Claudia and I discuss the power and importance of these two crucial aspects of your organization’s mission: clarity and buy-in.

    Listen in.

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